Clip for web-press plate-cylinders.



.No. 999,990. PATENTED JULY 21, 1909.

P. E. ELLIS 9 R. A. HASSELBAOH. CLIP FOR WEB PRESS PLATE CYLINDERS.

APPLIOATION I'ILfGD MAB. 5, 1909.

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FRANK E. ELLIS AND nonnn'r A. HASSELBACH, OF REVERE, MASSACHUSETTS.

v CLIP FOB WE -PRESS PLATE- C YLmDERB.

naapaoso.

5 have invented certain new and useful Im ovements in Clips for Web-Press Plategylinders, of which the following is a specification. 4

This invention relates to means for secur- 0 ing the printing plates to the plate cylinders of web presses, that is, of presses of that type which print news alpers upon a continuous web ofpaper. presses of this charac ter the type plates are curved cylindrically to fit upon rotating cylinders, and are securedb clipswhich enga etheo posite ends of the p ates. The end edges of t he plate are beveled off and the clips are undercut so as to overlap the beveled edges and prevent removal of the plate. It has been the practice hitherto to pro vide fixed clips to engage one end of each plate, and movable clips to enga e the other end, there being three or more 0 such movable cli s to act upon eachplate. These clips have always been inde endently mounted, and each has had an independent actuator by which to clamp it against the plate. This consequently has necessitated independent adjustment of all the clips, and has resulted in making practically impossible a uniform;

In adengaging pressure by all the clips. justing these clips it has been the universal practice to move each of them up into conadditional twist to the adjusting screw of each clip to clamp it firmly. The ressure 'thus a plied is made as nearly equa as can be in t e limited time at the disposal of the workman, and in the absence of any. device for measuring the pressure, but it de ends altogether on the judgment of the wor man whether the clips do actually have the same degree of tightness or not. Indeed, it often hap ens that a slight extra pressure is given to t e last clip, whlch has the efiect of springing the plate. A sprun plate is one of the defects most to be avoi ed in the operation of printing presses of this character, for it not only prevents a perfect impression being made, but also brea s the web of paper.

It sometimes happens that plates before being applied to the c linder are sprung out of the truly cylindrica form, and when thus defective, their defect is not remedied, but

4 Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed Inch 5, 190a. and No. 41am.

tact with the plate without bringing any great pressure to bear, and then applying an whi Patented July 21, 1908.

rather accentuated by the emplo ment of the separate independently adjusta le cli s, for

.if each of'these clips is individually a usted with equal force against theplate, there is no latltude given for the plate to be sprung back into roper shape by the printing pressure and t ere is no way for the workman to tell which of the clips it is necessary to leave slightly loose to permit of this re-shaping of the late.

T e object of our invention has been to .devise a clip which could be adjusted and clamped against the printing plate by a single actuator in one o eration, and which would engage practica y the entire end of the plate with a uniform pressure.

It is also our object to arrange the engaging ed eof our clip in such a way that it would ear a constant angular relation to the printing late, and be accurately positioned against t e latter, whether the plate may have been previously sprung or not, thereby enga ing onl the properly-formed parts of the p ate an allowing the distorted portion latitude for returning to its correct form.

A clip of this character is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which,.

Figure 1 re resents an elevation of one end of a.plate cy inder having our invention aplied thereto. Fig. 2 re resents a longituinal section of such a cylinder. Fig. 3 represents a combined end elevation and crosssection of such a cylinder.

The same reference characters indicate the same parts in all the figures.

1 represents a printing-plate cylinder of the kind usually used in web printing presses,

such. a cylindercarrying ordinarilyfour printing plates 2 which are arranged end to end and side by side, that is, each plate covering approximately half the circumferential sur face of the cylinder and somewhat less than half of its length. The printing plate is beveled at the opposite end edges 3 and 4, as appears in Fig. 1, so as to engage under theundercut edges of holding -cl1 s provided to secure the plate in place. ne of the ends of the late is secured by the fixed clips 4 cli are attached in an manner so as to be ermanent, to the cylin er midway between 1ts ends, and are undercut on'the opposite sides. The end of the printing) plate nearest the cylinder end is engaged y a movable clip 5. This clip is a curved metal band or stn which is concentric with :the cylinder 1 an :printing plate 2, and is movable longitugage'ment witht e printing plate. The clip near its central portion is rigidly connected to-slide horizontally in this groove.

, sufliciently 1 with a projection 6 which has lateral wings projecting into the undercut sides of a groove 7 extending longitudmally of the cylinder. This projection 6 is therefore enaIbled t is connected with the clip either by being made integral therewith or secured in any other permanent manner. I On eac side of the projection or central slide 6 are other slides 8 and 9 which fit in correspondingly formed grooves or guideways 10 and 11. The end portions of the clip are detachably secured to the slides 8 and 9 by suitable securing means, such as the screws 12 and 13.

There is a single actuator for the clip consisting of a screw 14 contained within the roove 7 havin its inner end contained in a fiearingin the od of the cylinder, and its outer end passing through a late 15 secured to the cylinder. A collar 16 caring against the inner side of the plate prevents endwisemovement of the. screw. This screw is 1 threaded through the slide 6 and has its outer end 17 s uared to receive a wrench.

It will e noted that by reason of the rigid connection of the clip 5 with the central slide, and its attachment to the end slides 8 sufficient ength to extend almost as far as the plate itself, so that it engages over nearly or practically the entire end of the plate, and

secures the same as efficiently as was done previously by the three independent clips.

y reason of this single actuator, much time in securing the plates is saved, and the pressure a plied is equal throughout the extent thereof. The same construction enables a plate which is warped or otherwise distorted to be pro erly clamped and made to conform to t e surface of the cylinder, for the fact that the clip engages the plate over a considerable distance and bears against it with equal pressure at its ends, being at the same time undercut so as somewhat to overlap the beveled end of the plate, causes the clips. With our improvement, this tendency is avoided, and the opposite effect secured.

It will be noted in Fi .1 that the active edge of the cli is somew at concaved, being recessed slight y between its ends on a curve of large radius extending nearly from one end to the other. This causes the ends of the clip to be slightly in advance of the center and to en age the plate first, thereby more accurate y positioning and more securely holding the same than would be the case if the central art engaged first. elasticity of the c ip allows the ends to spring slightly until substantially the entire eiligaging edge of'the clip bears against the p ate.

The parts above described are duplicated in the form of plate cylinder here shown, where independent printingplates are mounted upon opposite sides of the cylinder. Each clip extends nearl half way around the circurhferehce of the cy inder.

We claim 1. In combination with a plate cylinder, a plurality of slides mounted to travel longitudinally thereon, a bowed clip connected to said slidesarranged to engage and secure the end of a printing plate to the cylinder, and a single actuator for'moving the clip and slides simultaneously toward and from the late.

2. In combination with a plate cylinder, three slides mounted in longitudinal undercut guideways in the surface of the cylinder, a cli secured at its ends and middle respective y, to all threeslides havin one edge shaped to fit the beveled edge 0 a printing plate and secure the same to the cylinder, and a single actuator acting on the middle slide to move all the slides and the clip simul- The i taneously and equally toward and from the plate.

3. The combination with a plate cylinder of a cylindrically curved adapted to fit the surface of said cylinder and beveled off at its ends, a clip consisting of a plate also curved concentrically with the cylmder and undercut on the edge adjacent to said plate so as to fit over the beveled edge thereof to secure the same to the cylinder, said clip being substantially co-extensive with the printing late so as to engage the latter at points cose to the o posite side edges thereof, a plurality of slidies to which said clip is connected, and a single actuator for moving said clip into and out of engage- -ment with the rinting plate.

4. The combination with a plate cylinder of a cylindrically curved printing plate adapted to fit the surface of said cylinder and beveled off at its ends, a clip consisting of a plate also curved concentrically with the cylinder and undercut on the edge adjacent to said plate so as to fit over the beveled edge thereof to secure the same to the cylinder,

rinting plate said clip being substantially co-extensive with the printing Cplate so as to engage the into and out of engagement with t latter at many an widely-separate points, a T-sha ed slide member projecting from the oh and fitting in an undercut groove in the cy inder, slides similarly mounted detachably secured to the opposite ends of the clip, and a single actuator for moving said clip e printing plate.

' 5. In combination with aplate cylinder and a curved rinting plate fitting thereon, a plurality of slldes having attached means for engaging the edge of the plate and securing it to the cylinder, and a single screw opera- 15 tively engaged indirectly with all of said slides through said attached means, for bringing the same simultaneouslyagainst the plate at a plurality of widely separated oints.

In testimony whereof we have a signatures, in resence of-two witnesses.

FR NK E. ELLIS.

ROBERT 'A. HASSELBACH.. Witnesses:

y P. W. PEZZETTI,

A O. RATIGAN.

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